Cat and Mouse Theory
by luvin-the-coffee
Summary: When Tony and Ziva are sent to investigate a woman's house, much drama ensues. It takes a serial killer, an abduction and way more to make them realize that playing cat and mouse has both physical and emotional consequences. TIVA! Please r/r! Chapt 7 up!
1. The Cat and Mouse

Authour's Note: I don't give you all of the details of the case right away, you have to figure them out as you go. I think that it's more fun that way!! Enjoy!

Ziva entered the elevator quickly after Tony.

"I think that it was the girl- his co-worker- Sarah- was it?"

"And why do you say that Zee-vah?"

"Lover's spit, it's obvious."

"Lover's spat, Miss David, lover's spat. And apparently the two weren't romantically intertwined. According to another co-worker, James Deacon, who I just let out of interrogation now, they had been playing a game of cat and mouse for a really long time, but he didn't think that anything had come of it."

"Cat and mouse?"

"You know.. The cat chases the mouse, the mouse teases, the cat then runs away, then they-"

Ziva interrupted knowingly, "Switch roles and it begin the game all over again."

Tony turned and grinned at her lightly, "When since has our little knife wielding Mossaid ninja been an expert on the dynamics of flirtation?"

Ziva chuckled, looking Tony in the eye unflinchingly, "You of all people should know Tony," she replied coyly.

Then, she tilted her head forward, her nose resting an inch away from his.

She spoke, barely audible above the rumble of the elevator, "Maybe since I met my mouse, yes?"

The elevator dinged open and Ziva stepped out first. As she did so, she turned to Tony and uttered an abrupt meow. Then, she raised her eyebrow flirtatiously, turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Tony standing with a dumb grin plastered to his face, as he watched her go.

Just then, as fortune would have it, Gibbs stepped into the elevator, "Wipe that dumb smirk off your face Dinozzo and get to work. You have a whole list of coworkers to talk to. Get Ziva and get going."

"Zi-ziva?" Tony asked, still stunned by her bold departure.

"Your partner?" Gibb replied, staring at Tony as if he was an escaped mental ward patient.

"On it boss," Tony said quickly, as he hustled out of the elevator, just barely avoiding a head slap from Gibbs.

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"You know, I should be the cat, " Tony remarked to Ziva from the driver's seat of his car.

Ziva turned to him, and made eye contact, a slight grin evident on her face, "What do you mean Tony?"

"You implied earlier that you were the cat, and it's been bothering me because mice are so little and cute and furry. I'm more of a cat, Zee-vah, big and daring and full of-"

"Fleas?" Ziva interrupted, smiling devilishly.

"Energy," Tony finished, ignoring her retort.

They were so immersed in conversation that neither of them noticed the microscopic GPS tracker that James Deacon, co-worker of Mark Waltham, had stuck onto Dinozzo's coat during interrogation.

Ziva sighed, but then, seeing how resolute Tony looked, laughed, "Does that make me little and cute and furry, because I am really opposed to that classificatio-"

Tony smiled at her, then, ran his eyes over her small frame slowly. "1: check. 2: check. 3: I don't know…but if you want I can find out," he winked at her.

Ziva shook her head, smiling, "Better that you watch the road, I would like to get to Mark Waltham's office alive."

"HA! Coming from you of all people! I'll take "ironic statements for 500 Alex"!" Tony retorted.

Ziva chuckled. Then, eyes glimmering she remarked quietly, "How did you know I was talking about you anyways, hmm?"

Tony's face reddened slightly, "Well weren't you?"

Ziva smiled knowingly at him, but just as she began to open her mouth to reply, her phone rang. She picked it up, and while doing so smirked,

"I guess you'll never know."

She turned her attention away from Tony and towards the phone, "David here."

"Damn modern technology," Tony murmured under his breath, unsure of whether he wanted Ziva to hear him or not.

A minute later, Ziva hung up and reported what Gibbs had informed her to Tony, "Sarah Adams didn't show up at work today. Gibbs wants us to check out her apartment instead of Mark's office. Address is 23 Pinecourt Drive. Looks like our game of cat and mouse may have just turned into a deadly one."

Little did she know that she was very close to the truth, in more ways then one.

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Tony and Ziva arrived at Pinecourt drive ten minutes later, and parked on the side of the road, unable to park in Sarah's driveway due to the presence of a massive blue Honda taking up the entire space.

"Hot wheels," Tony stated flatly, while thinking to himself that he had already seen that car at some point today. He shook off his idea, due to how incredibly unlikely it was. "I thought that Sarah drove a Mazda though?"

"Me too," Ziva replied, "Well, the sooner we get in there and talking to her, the sooner we'll know."

Tony tried it the door, "Locked. Let's see some more expert break-in techniques Zee-va-"

The door was opened before he even got to finish his sentence- Tony regarded Ziva with a bemused expression, "You know, you are one fast moving chick, David." He almost added, "and it's kind of hot," but then refrained, determined to maintain _some _level of professionalism while on the job.

Tony and Ziva entered the house, guns at the ready. "Clear," Tony shouted as he passed through the kitchen.

Ziva recoiled as she encountered the sight that awaited her in the living room. There was Sarah Adams, spread- eagled and face up on the floor, dead in a pool of her own blood.

"Tony, I think that you are going to want to see this," Ziva called.

Tony laughed, "Ziva, unless you managed to strip in the last two minutes and are now dancing around in a state of female abandon, I think I'll stay in here. This chick has some sweet Chinese leftovers in her fri-"

"Tony. In here. NOW!" Ziva hollered.

"Ok, ok- Jee-" Tony saw what Ziva was looking at. After taking a moment to digest the scene before him, he said quietly, "I'll call Gibbs." He pulled out his phone, and dialled, then held it up to his ear, waiting.

Ziva glanced around the room, she had the eerie sense that someone was watching her, and she was often correct when such ideas struck her. Not seeing anyone however, she shook her head in reaction to her Mossaid- training- induced paranoia. Looking up, she noticed the star of David hanging above Sarah's couch and the Minora resting on her side table, "Jewish…" she murmured sadly.

"I'm not getting any reception in here Ziva. You secure the premises, I'm gonna go out back and update Gibbs on the situation. I don't want any prying neighbours hearing what I'm saying out front. I hate prying neighbours."

"Will do." Ziva replied dutifully as Tony exited out the back door.

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Tony got reception the second that he was out of the house. He walked into Sarah's yard as he talked, "Gibbs. You will not believe what Ziva and I just found. Our prime suspect dead in a pool of her own blood on the floor of her house."

"I believe it Dinozzo," was Gibbs's curt response.

"What? How?" Tony replied, bewildered.

"I was just about to call you, as I heard my phone ringing. We have a lead. You shouldn't have let that bastard James Deacon go. About 15 minutes after he left we got a call from his boss saying that he he'd gotten him confused with another James when we asked him to back- up James's alibi. James Deacon lied to us about where he was at the time of Mark's murder. So, we did a more in depth scan on him, and found out that he was a suspect about two years ago in the murder of a young Jewish woman and this guy who she'd been hitting it off with on the job. The forensics came back and it turned out that some other guy's fingerprints were found on the weapon. The "culprit" was found dead in his apartment five hours later, having overdosed on Tylenol. He left a suicide note explaining that he'd committed the murder of this girl and her potential lover because of a beautiful Jewish woman who had broken his heart. The case was closed. Fishy thing? James Deacon's alibi fell through."

Tony shivered, realization dawning on him, "And, Sarah Adams was Jewish. This guy is a serial killer boss."

"Exactly what I was afraid of Dinozzo. Where's Ziva?"

Tony started. He'd been so engaged in conversation, he'd forgotten all about his partner, investigating inside the house. Tony replied into the phone, talking over the noise of a car starting nearby, "Just in the house boss, I'll get her and we'll continue securing the premises until you get here."

"I can't hear you," Gibbs replied, "What's that noise? And where did you say Ziva was? I want her under your surveillance at all times Dinozzo, this creep seems to be after any Jewish chick that he can get his hands on…"

"Sorry boss- it was just some huge car taking off in a hurr- SHIT!!"

Tony dropped the phone and lunged towards the doorway, realizing in sudden horror where he had seen that blue Honda before- parked in the parking lot of NCIS closest to the interrogation room earlier today-

"ZIVA!!" Tony hollered once he'd entered the house, "ZIVA! Are you here??" Nothing. Nothing. Tony glanced around the room quickly, signs of distress that hadn't been there before. Why had he turned his back?? Never turn your back on a co-worker, that should have been one of Gibbs's notorious rules.

Tony ran feverishly out of the house, tripping over furniture as he went, and not even caring. Sure enough, the driveway was empty. The blue Honda had left. Tony stared unblinkingly at the spot, millions of thoughts running through his head at the same time.

Then- with no time to lose- he belted for his car, thoughts of Ziva lying slain in a pool of blood torturing him, as he lunged into the driver's seat, abandoning his cell phone in the backyard, and screeched off, following the tire tracks left by the blue Honda. He was so blinded by his own overwhelming need to insure Ziva's safety, that he didn't take the time to realize just how pointless trying to track the vehicle was.

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Authour's note: More to come! Please read and review!!


	2. Truth and lies

Tony ran into NCIS headquarters at top speed, ignoring even the greetings from pretty coworkers which were directed to him as he passed…he was thinking of one pretty coworker only right now. Stumbling into the office- he ran headlong into Gibbs.

"Dinozzo- where have you been? What's rule number 3?" Gibbs demanded angrily.

"Never be unreachable. I know boss. But I left my cell in Sarah Adam's backyard when I- I chased after the bastard that took Ziva," Tony panted, trying to catch his breath.

"He took Ziva? Fantastic Dinozzo, just fantastic."

"Look boss, I'm not exactly cheering over here either," Tony replied bitterly, "Look up this James guy's license and let's find Ziva quickly boss- you don't know what this guy's capable of- I mean- she could be dead already- he's totally nuts."

"We did trace James's vehicle Dinozzo. We've known that he was responsible for the murders of a marine and his potential love interest since 25 minutes ago- not all of us are as incompetent as you seem to be today. Blue Honda, 6N5 72W, abandoned 7 blocks away from Sarah Adam's house. He must have taken off with Ziva in another vehicle." Gibbs informed Tony.

"Ziva must be knocked unconscious then boss, because if she was awake she would have gotten away by now- hell- she wouldn't have gotten caught in the first place," Tony replied.

"She wouldn't have gotten caught in the first place if you had been keeping your eyes on her- like you're always supposed to do with your partner when you're on the job!" Gibbs responded menacingly.

Tony blushed. Inside, he was kicking himself, "I need to do something. What can I do boss? Give me something... anything."

"Damn right you can do something Dinozzo. You can wait to hear back from one of our men- Richard, the director sent him and a team out to check out this abandoned Honda when it was clear that you weren't coming back anytime soon."

"Can't McGeek do that? He's the probie around her- I need to be doing something active boss... what if he kills her?" Tony asked, frantically, "If I just sit around and do nothing, I'll never forgive myself."

"McGee is at Sarah Adams's murder scene with Ducky. Her body is being brought in for an autopsy as we speak. And you will damn well do exactly what I tell you to do DiNizzo, and I am telling you to sit at your desk and wait for that call. If he kills her, then he'll never be able to forgive himself either DiNozzo, because I will personally make sure that he is put through as many unmentionable tortures as I can possibly think of."

Tony frowned, but complied to Gibbs's wishes, aware of just how dangerous it was to say no to his boss. He slid into his chair, a complete bundle of nerves. After sitting for one minute, he got up and began pacing frantically back and fourth. He could sense it- a timebomb- just ticking away... and here he was trapped in this damn office waiting to answer a phone. He needed to do something productive- HAD to do something productive. Gibbs's entered the office once more and Tony stalked towards him.

He addressed Gibbs with utmost conviction and confidence, "Boss, I can't just sit here. I will do whatever you want me to do- no matter how dirty, no matter how painstaking, no matter how gut- wrenchingly horrible. I will crawl through sewers, I will stick my head down toilets, I will bathe in cow's blood and drown kittens... just please let me do something to help."

Gibbs replied in his normal curt manner, "Come with me then DiNozzo, we've got a lead."

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She was sitting in a chair, in the shadow of a dark room. Suddenly, the room was plunged into bright light, the kind that makes your head spin after only five minutes of subjection to it.

A man was pacing in front of her- but he had a hood over his face, so that she could not recognize him. He was asking her questions. She felt instantly as if she was a suspect back in the interrogation room of a place that she could barely remember. She wouldn't be like all of those weak and pitiful suspects however; she would not talk, no matter what he asked her.

"Ziva David," the man stated flatly, in a familiar voice. So familiar to her- yet, she was unable to identify it.

Just as she resolved not to reply, her mouth opened and she uttered the word "yes", it sneaking from her lips without permission.

"We have been made aware that you have been hiding a piece of information that we find to be extraordinarily important to this case. Provide this information and we will come down easy on you…"

Then the voice asked a question which had haunted her dreams for many days after it had first been uttered,

"Have you ever lied to someone that you love, Ziva?"

She stared back at the hooded figure, bewildered by the nature of the question. Surely, this, a matter so private, couldn't be relevant to any case that this stranger had against her. She shook her head, determined once again to maintain composure and silence.

Again though, her mouth opened and words escaped, torn from her, as if this man had reached down her throat and stolen them right from a place deep inside of her.

"Yes I have," Ziva replied, as a memory enveloped her. She viewed it as an external spectator, as if through a window.

It was night in the office of a building that she couldn't remember: she and a man that she couldn't quite name were sitting at work in silence, when all of a sudden he turned and spoke to her in a playful tone of voice.

"Ziva, you know, McGeek over there is really a genius when it comes to interpreting human interaction- we have to hand that to him. So- what I find funny is that his whole "Lisa is secretly in love with Tommy" plotline in his book is completely off the mark. Kinda incompatible with McGeek's usual genius, wouldn't you say?"

The woman turned to the man, and replied stoically, "Even geniuses make interpretative mistakes sometimes Tony. Do not get excited."

She returned to the present just in time to hear the man ask his next probing question.

"What did you lie about?"

Ziva would not answer this question because it was too private. She clamped her mouth shut and shook her head, staring at the black hooded man in front of her with absolute defiance. Suddenly, as if someone had forcefully pulled her lips apart, she found herself speaking once again, "No, No!" she forced her body to say, but these weren't the words which she heard herself say out loud. The words that she said out loud were words which she kept buried deep inside, in the darkest recesses of her inner being. And somehow, in someway, these were the words which were being revealed to this stranger… the truth, rather then the lies- for once.

"I lied about love… about being in love."

"No…" she whispered, terrified of the truth that she had just revealed to her audience, and partially to her self. This "no" echoed in her head, but was not heard by the man that paced in front of her.

She was determined to get out of this place, determined to run before he made her confess to anything else- before he made her... she wriggled in the rope that embraced her, desperately trying to escape from the possibility of admitting everything, right here, to an ominous figure that she didn't even know.

"And pray, who were you in love with Ziva? Or should I say who _are_ you in love with?

Ziva struggled more against her binding, fighting like she had never fought before… she would not, could not answer that question. The numerous practiced moments of repression, quelled remarks and dismissed desires would all have been a waste if she admitted this to the man that stood in front her, this daunting phantom of her subconscious. "No…" she whispered again, then louder, "NO!" but her words were trapped inside her head, and she felt her mouth opening once more, completely against her will. She put her hand to her mouth, but it was flung backwards by some invisible force, and her words poured out, the liquid gold of heaven, and the poison of hell combined in one concoction…

"Tony Dinozzo. I am in love with Tony Dinozzo."

After she said it, she knew that he was the man in the office, and that it was true. She knew that those words were the words that haunted her, that had lingered in her subconscious for so long, that she had been aware of, but only willing to acknowledge as the cause of confused tears and heartache.

"Happy??" Ziva demanded, though she could not be heard. She glared furiously at the figure, "Look what you've made me do n-"

He removed his hood and revealed a smiling, triumphant face. Tony.

Then… she was floating, high above the world, a feather drifting lazily through the hemisphere… aware only of the fact that she was so incredibly light, so incredibly light, and soft and carefree, so carefree.

"Wake up!" The voice penetrated her state of bliss, and Ziva David awoke.

She was sitting tied to a chair in a dark room; all of the strange qualities of her trauma induced hallucination had faded away. She was acutely aware of a heavy breathing to her left; she turned her head slightly and felt it against her temple, the point of a gun…

"Do what I say, or I shoot."

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Authour's note: I hope that you liked this addition. Things can only get crazier from here :0!! Please review!


	3. Scripts and surprises

Authour's note: This part is very intense! Lol, and don't worry.. I assure you, there will be romance to come…

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Ideas flitted through her mind- with every word he said, she came up with a new one- how to disarm him, how to break loose, how to force him to the ground with his gun pointed to his temple..

"Take this paper," he placed a wrinkled piece of paper on her lap, "Learn the lines for Danya." Then, he removed the gun from her temple and began pacing nervously back and forth, muttering to himself, "It was all wrong last time, I have to get it right this time, I have to get it right..."

Ziva watched James carefully. Three hours ago, he had seemed perfectly normal. This man that stood before her now in this small warehouse room appeared to be the raving, aggressive alter ego of the charming and personable man that she and Tony had met earlier that day. Tony... she wouldn't think about that now. Right now, she had to devise a plan of escape, but first she had to...

"LEARN THE SCRIPT!" James screeched, "Learn the script or I shoot.. I swear, I shoot!" He pointed his gun at her once again. So unstable... so flustered... so deranged. A part of her almost felt sorry for him. What evil forces in the universe had united to forge such a man?

Ziva spoke placidly, "I will learn the lines, James, I will learn the lines."

He nodded, shaking, and continued to pace, as Ziva read over the lines that he had presented to her.

_I know that I began flirting with you years ago David, and I know that you've been in love with me for a really long time. But this has got to stop. This has got to stop. At first it started off as some office jokes, nice, and fun and natural. And I meant it that time when I was drunk and told you that I loved you. But now, you are seriously freaking me out. I'm sick of the harassment at work.. I used to enjoy the attention, but now some of your suggestions scare me. I've gotten your drunken messages, and your love letters and fuck, I'm really uncomfortable with all of this, ok? Your feelings for me have gotten out of control!! That's why I'm filing this restraining order, and why you're going to get fired tomorrow. I wanted to explain all of this to you now, because I really did love you and respect you as a person, and I feel like that old David deserves these words._

_(David walks towards her and grabs her by the sleeve.)_

_Danya, no, no. What are you doing? What are you doing?! I love you Danya. You can't do this to me. Please don't do this to me!! (David shakes her.)_

_Stop David, stop, please stop._

_You're my world Danya, you're my world, you're all I care about. I've loved you for years… don't you understand? Please Danya, please don't do this to me._

_David, please! I have to! (David grabs her again, she becomes angry.) Get off me!_

_(David tries to kiss her.)_

_Get off me! Get off me you pig!! (She pushes him away.) I've tried to be honest with you, and kind to you, but this is just getting ridiculous. I'm leaving._

_(Danya starts to leave but David blocks her way, angry.)_

_Don't walk away from me when I'm trying to kiss you. You said that you loved me, so kiss me. _

_No! (She tries to get past him.)_

_(Even angrier.) Kiss me!!_

_No!! Get out of the way you animal!! Get out of the way. I never fucking loved you!! How could I? It was all a lie! It was ALL a lie._

_No, no… you can't be right about that Danya, you can't be right.. You told me that you loved me, you poured your heart out to me. _

_It was a lie David… I never loved you! I hate you, I hate you more then everything, you are scum... Scum!_

_(David moans.) No… no… (He moves towards her.) Please, please…_

_(She replies coldly.) Get away from me, get away from me right now!! (He continues to come towards her. Suddenly, right as he is almost to her… she, scared, takes out a knife and stabs him right through the heart. He falls to the ground clutching his chest and staring at her. She watches him, in shock. Then she falls to the ground beside him.)_

_Oh god, oh god. What have I done? I do love you David, I do love you. Oh god… I loved you all along, I did. _

_(He looks up at her and smiles.)_

_Goodbye Danya._

_(He dies. She takes the knife from his chest and holds it above her own.)_

_I can't live now, I can't. At least if I do this, we'll have a chance to be together, the way it was always supposed to be. (She stabs herself and dies, embracing him.)_

Ziva exhaled slowly after finishing her reading, and looked up, meeting James's stone cold gaze evenly.

"That's the way it was supposed to happen-" He pulled up his shirt and pointed aggressively to a thin scar on his abdomen.

"It wasn't supposed to happen the way it did. It was supposed to happen like that. It's taken me a few scripts…a few different ways… but I've got it now.. I've got it finally. The way things were supposed to be," he stated shakily, "The way it was supposed to happen. I have to go get your costumes, stay where you are, or I _will_ find you and I _will_ kill you," He exited the room in a hurry, looking after her as he went.

The second he left, she got to work. She had noticed it minutes earlier, a shard of glass lying just 2 inches from where she sat, tied to a chair which was firmly attached to the ground. He had tied her in an unusual way, bound many times at the hip and around the hip, and upper legs, around the ankles, and with hands very tightly tied behind her back.

She knew that she could just stay and let him play out his revolting script, then bring his body back to NCIS after she stabbed him. A large part of her wanted to do so. But, she knew that no one at NCIS would approve of her handling the situation in such a way. Even more so, she knew that she would look poorly upon herself if she took such a cowardly approach. This man had killed three innocent people, and she couldn't let him go so easily, in the arms of delusional bliss.

So, she placed her foot on the shard of glass and slid it in towards her. Once it was directly under her, she used her feet to toss it up on to her lap. Fortunately, Mossaid training had taught her exactly how to get out of such situations when a sharp object was accessible. Her hands were bound, but her mouth was not. She leaned down, putting her flexibility to the test, and picked up the shard with her mouth. Then she turned around with it still between her lips, turned her head over her right shoulder and dropped it into her right hand. She began sawing at the thick rope with the shard, her hands numb and shaking from loss of circulation. Six minutes later, she was free from the rope. She held the shard in hand and walked quietly over to the high window she had noticed in the corner during her primary inspection of her surroundings. She put her hands on the ledge, about ready to hoist herself up…

"DANYA! What are you doing? NO! They're coming, _we have to go together_!" James ran towards her, gun pointed.

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Seven minutes later, Tony and Gibbs arrived at the location, with two agents from another team in the back.

Tony barely waited for the car to stop before he ran out. Gibbs cautioned him, "We were following a cell phone number that we traced when this freak idiotically gave us his real number earlier, Tony… but it was turned off 10 minutes ago, so we can't even be sure that they're at this location anymore. Collins, Jones.. Go around back. Tony and I will cover the front,' Gibbs ordered.

Guns at the ready, they did as they were told. Tony and Gibbs entered the front entrance of the warehouse, guns drawn and eyes up. They made their way through every room consecutively, until they entered into the back one. In the center sat a chair, firmly planted in the ground, with pieces of rope coiled around it. Gibbs and Tony entered cautiously,

"Clear," Tony announced.

Gibbs stalked over to him, and looking at Tony, noticed what he had missed before. He saw something glinting on Tony's jacket as sun poured in through an open window at the back of the room. He reached out and plucked the tracker from Tony's coat.

"The smart bastard!" Gibbs said angrily, "It's a tracking system. He's been playing cat and mouse with us the whole time."

Cat and mouse… the words brought Tony back to the moment shared between him and Ziva earlier that day…

"_Cat and mouse?__"_

"_You know.. The cat chases the mouse, the mouse teases, the cat then runs away, then they-__"_

"_Switch roles and it begins the game all over again.__"_

"_When since has our little knife wielding Mossaid ninja been an expert on the dynamics of flirtation?__"_

"_You of all people should know Tony. Maybe since I met my mouse, yes?"_

"Dinozzo! Are you even listening?" Gibbs demanded, bringing Tony thundering back to reality.

"Yes, boss." Tony replied quickly.

"James must have put the tracker on you at some point during interrogation. He knew we were coming, so he took off!"

Then, suddenly attracted by something else shining in the sunlight, Gibbs made his way over to the open window at the side of the room. There, on the ground below the window was a small pool of blood. They followed a trail of blood splats out of the back door, where Collins and Jones were kneeling down beside a set of tire tracks not far from where the blood trail ended.

Tony looked at the blood, horrified. Not enough blood loss to kill, unless the wound was left unattended to or in a fatal location…

"Tony, get a sample of this blood. Collins, I want photos of those tire prints. Jones, see if you can find the weapon that caused the injury."

"I have the weapon that caused the injury," a voice stated placidly from behind them.

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AH!! Who's voice is it?? Please review…if I'm going to be a writing machine, I need reviews for fuel!!


	4. Consequences and rewards

They all turned around at the same time to see Ziva standing before them, holding a large shard of glass, still glistening with blood.

"Ziva!"

Overcome with relief, Tony hurried towards her and encompassed her in a big hug, not even caring that by doing so he was putting himself directly in contact with the blood of a serial killer. He pulled away abruptly, registering how unprofessional he must look, and gave Ziva a weak smile. He suppressed the speech that he wanted to give her, and instead told her, "We missed you Ziva." before giving Gibbs the oppurtunity to talk.

"What's going on David?" Gibbs demanded.

"James just drove away in a red mazda, undoubtedly Sarah Adam's car.. we should have figured that out earlier. He left about three minutes ago, if we hurry, we can still trace him and catch up," Ziva replied seriously.

She looked exhausted and frazzled, her face was wet with sweat, her clothes dirty and her hair wild. Seeing her standing there though, alive and alert, Tony didn't think that he'd ever seen her look so beautiful.

"A difficult task considering we don't have a license number."

"I know the first half of his liscence, L6N, but if a quick solution is what you are looking for, we still have his cell phone number, if it is legitimate, and he was using his cell phone quite frequently in the warehouse. If you trace his cellphone signal, if he is using it... you can trace his vehicle, yes?" Ziva responded, not missing a beat, "Does anyone have any water?" she asked, realizing suddenely how parched she was.

Gibbs grinned, taking everyone off guard, "Well done David. I'll get McGee on the phone right now, see if he can trace the signal...if it's even the correct number. We'll get you some water back at the office, we were in such a rush leaving, no one brought any. Jones, get that shard from her and bag it."

Jones did as he was told. As Gibbs contacted the office, Tony turned to Ziva,

"You had everyone really worried Zee-vah."

"Even you Tony?" she asked calmly, a flicker of a smile crossing her lips.

Tony chuckled anxiously, "Ha! Me! You should know better then to ask things like that by now Miss David. I'm not the type to worry! Worry? What's worry? I'm not even familar with the term."

"Tony, I'm pregnant with your child," she responded quickly.

Tony did a double take, "What?!"

Ziva chuckled, "Not the type to worry, hmm?"

"Foul play, David, foul play! So, you caught me, I was a little but worried about you, but only a little, don't think I was pulling a Nicky Ferrante on you or anything."

"An Affair to Remember. Deborah Carr and Cary Grant. He is a fox, yes?" Ziva asked, raising an eyebrow, her voice slightly hoarse from lack of water.

"Deborah Kerr, Zee-vah, Kerr. But still, I'm impressed, very impress-"

"Shut it Dinozzo. In case you'd forgotten, we have a serial killer to catch here... McGee told me where he's headed.. if we're fast, we can still intercept him. Is this guy armed Ziva?"

It took her a minute to reply... she suddenely felt very dizzy and disoriented, "Yes, he is."

"Ok, let's get going guys!"

Ziva watched as Gibbs stepped towards the car, she took a breath, trying to steady herself and took one hesitant step. She fell forward in a fast faint, the world fading dark around her.

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Ziva woke up back at NCIS, lying on top of... Tony's desk?

"Sleeping beauty back from the dead," Tony said, smiling as he peered over her.

"What? Why am I on your desk Tony? Gibbs will kill me if he sees me on here! Where's James? Why are we in the office? We are losing time!" Ziva sat up quickly, regretting it the second she did so, as dizziness overcame her once more.

"Woah, woah. Take it easy there David. You know, it's not every day that you faint from dehydration.. you can't just slip right back into warrior mode. It's not that easy," Tony cautioned, supporting her back.

"I did not faint Tony," Ziva snapped defensively, faintly registering the fact that he was touching her and that she liked it.

"Oh-ho-ho- that was a faint Ziva.. that was a definite feminine swoon. I know it hurts to believe it, but..." He adopted a heavy American accent, "The truth hurts. Maybe not as much as jumping on a bicycle with a seat missing, but it hur-

"Where is Gibbs?" Ziva interrupted, deeply consumed by her desire to catch James before he got his clutches on some other Jewish girl.

"He's tracing the creep as we speak Zee-vah-"

Abby rushed into the office, a whilrwind of energy, "Ziva! You're ok!!" She gave Ziva a massive hug.

"I'm ok Abby, I'm ok. But I would be better if I was out there helping to put this man behind bars. Why are we here Tony?" Ziva demanded again.

Abby piped up, "Gibbs was worried about you Ziva. It's not everyday an amazing warrior like you faints on the job..."

"I did not faint! I do not like the dennotation that that word has, it suggests weakness." Ziva retorted angrily.

"Uh oh... Tony, I don't think that she's going to like Gibbs's next instructions very much either then..." Abby grinned at Tony.

"Stab me!" Ziva responded.

Tony chuckled, "Shoot me Ziva, the phrase is "shoot me". Boss wants you to get some rest tonight-"

"At Tony's place, because he doesn't want you alone with this guy after you." Abby finished, smirking.

Ziva's heart skipped a beat at the suggestion, but she quickly pulled herself together and maintained her tough facade, "What? I am fine. And even if I'm not, I do not need a babysitter."

"Gibbs's orders are Gibbs's orders Zee-vah. I only do what the bossman tells me, and he told me to take you home with me...so I'm taking you home with me," Tony smirked.

"And if I refuse?" Ziva replied, a twinkle in her eye.

"Ha! Well, I think that you've been abducted enough times for one day...but I'm not entirely opposed to the notion of handcuffs if you're completely unwilling to cooperate." Tony stated, grinning.

Abby laughed and smiled at Ziva in a knowing way, "Oh, Ziva. Before you take off for the night... Ducky discovered the cause of death of Sarah Adams, she was shot at close range."

"Does not surprise me," Ziva replied coldly. "Is Gibbs at least going to keep us updated on the case?"

"Indubitably, Watson, indubitably," Tony replied, helping Ziva to stand.

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Gibbs pounded his steering wheel in frustration, as McGee tried to reassure him on the other side of the line, "I'm sure that he'll make a call again.. when he's at a stable location boss.. and then it will be easier to track him."

Gibbs responded in an angry tone, "You better be right McGee... because I can't deal with this guy being on the loose for much longer. I'm going to call one of the men that the direct sent out with me, who's still investigating the warehouse...see if he's found anything. Notify me if you get a signal again."

Gibbs hung up abruptly and dialled Collins's number, "What you got Collins?"

"What appears to be the address of our killers next victim sir. Her name is Miriam Ackerman. She lives at 213 Davis Court, New York City. I found her picture and details with her address and a really strange script on a table in the warhouse."

"Good work Collins," Gibb responded before hanging up the phone. He turned to the man sitting next to him, wishing like crazy that he hadn't kindly allowed a pleading Tony to escort Ziva back to NCIS. He hated that he wasn't working with his own team on this case.

"We have a lead. Get McGee on the phone so we can get directions," he ordered to Jones.

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Ziva yawned as Tony pulled onto his street, "Could you drive any slower?" she asked sarcastically.

"Sorry that we don't all sign our death sentence everytime that we get behind the wheel Zee-vah," Tony retorted.

Ziva chuckled, and watched Tony as he drove... he was so alert, and so careful. She found her mind drifting back to what the previous events of the day had revealed to her- the dream that she had had. She shook her head in rememberance of the epiphany that her subconcious had triggered... that she was in love with this man who sat beside her now, humming along to the Shania Twain blaring over the radio. In love with Tony? She almost laughed audibly at even the suggestion- but a tiny part of her knew that to laugh at the suggestion would be to lie to herself, a tiny part of her which she had only come to listen to on dark stormy nights when she imagined him with other women and couldn't breathe at the thought. A tiny part of her which was quickly devoured by the dominance of her rational self. She shook her head- it was the blow over the head which had caused her subconcious to unleash that epiphany. That had to be it.

This type of thought process was common for Ziva- her own game of cat and mouse- which her mind reserved specifically for her feelings for Tony. The cat- her rational side- always triumphed over any passing thought that she might love him. Afterall, she couldn't love him, he was her partner, and romantic love was only a source of pain, and therefore, weakness. Whenever she felt herself becoming too fond of him, too bemused whenever he did something particularily "Tony-like", she always found a way to justify it with something other then love. Maybe he'd said something particuarily funny, maybe she was feeling lonely, maybe she was pms-ing and not her normal self, or maybe she was just plain horny and this was manifesting itself in an emotional form. Today- a sharp blow over the head was her scapegoat. As quickly as the cat was to triumph though- the mouse always found a way to escape, eventually beginnning the game over again. But it hadn't yet. Ziva smiled calmly, pleased with her resolution- it was a blow over the head that had caused her to think those things. A blow over the head... that was all.

"We're here Zee-vah," Tony said, glancing over at her.

He smiled... he always got a thrill when Ziva came over. He wasn't really sure why- maybe it was because in the corner of his mind there always lurked the possibility of something more then just a fun night of movies unfolding. He always inwardly scolded himself whenever such a thought crossed his mind. He constantly forbid himself to think of her in any way other then as a co-worker and friend... he'd said her name in bed once while making love to Jeanne- and that, right there, was indication enough that viewing Ziva as the sensual, playful and passionate woman that she was under her cold, tough facade was highly dangerous. Sure, their conversation at work was bursting to the seams with sexual chemistry- but it would sadly have to remain that way, because of rule #12, among copious other reasons. Still, as he opened his door for her, and led her into his house, he couldn't wipe the grin off his face. He walked towards the fridge.

"Do you know what the right way to end a highly stressful day on the job is Zee-vah?" he asked playfully.

"By taking a long hot bath?" Ziva replied drowsily.

"No- by getting hammered and waking up with a pleasant hangover," Tony said, tossing her a beer, "Take a seat. Movie time."

Ziva yawned as she yanked her shoes off, walked into Tony's living room, and took a seat on his couch. She was looking forwards to a calm, safe evening of movie- watching.

Little did she know that the evening would be far from calm. Alcohol was great at melting down mental defenses like those that the two had carefully constructed. Little did she know that the evening would also be far from safe, it was really a shame that Gibbs had lost track of James's location..

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AN: Hope you enjoyed!! Please please pleaaaaaaase review!


	5. Movies and tension

AN: This chapter is where the T rating comes into play, just a warning, or a hint :0. Enjoy!!

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Three beers later and Ziva had completely forgotten the traumas suffered previously throughout the day. She was highly unwilling to admit that she was a lightweight, but she was… in fact… a lightweight. She was already quite buzzed. She and Tony were watching Kill Bill 2, they had already finished Kill Bill1 and Speed, and were far from tired.

"I could hit this girl's ass any time," Ziva informed Tony, gesturing sloppily towards the screen.

Tony chuckled, although not as buzzed as Ziva, he was definitely feeling the affects of the alcohol that he'd consumed. However, as usual, while under the influence, he spoke without thinking.

"I think you were going for "kick" Ziva, but I'm just going to leave that one alone because there's nothing I like better then one beautiful girl spanking another one."

His words seemed to jolt Ziva out of her semi-intoxicated haze and she turned around to face him rapidly, heart galloping.

"You think I am beautiful, Tony?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, "This is news to me."

Tony's face darkened every so slightly, but he hurried to reply sarcastically, "Well- you're not generally supposed to be open about the fact that you think your partner's hot Zee-vah, in America we call that "professionalism"."

Ziva snorted, though internally, she was doing summersaults, "In Israel we call that missed opportunity."

Tony laughed and tried to change the topic, slightly embarrassed about his slip-up, "Good movie eh?"

"Oh no, no, do not try and change the topic Tony… you said that I was beautiful, shortly followed by hot if I am correct," Ziva said, nudging him playfully.

"So what Zee-vah? We're not in grade five… you're beautiful, hot, spicy, exotic, cookin. See…it's nothing. And we must be quiet, young grasshopper, quiet. A cinematic masterpiece is in progress."

"I see," Ziva replied, pursing her lips… disappointed that he'd called his comment nothing. Then, summoning up courage, she murmured, "You are quite attractive yourself Tony."

"What?" Tony said, turning towards her.

Ziva looked at him sideway, "It's nothing," she responded cattily.

"No, you said something. You did. You said that I'm attractive too. HaHA! I heard you. That is what you said, right?" Tony gazed at her, eyes wide.

"A cinematic masterpiece is in progress Tony, shhh," she replied, staring placidly at the screen, a smirk on her face.

"Cruel games Ziva… these are cruel games that you play," Tony responded.

Ziva clawed at him and hissed, remembering back to their earlier conversation.

Tony snickered, and they returned to the movie. She teased him so much, pushed all of his buttons… and he hated it, but loved it at the same time. He really had wanted confirmation that she found him attractive, so much so that he would have kept probing but for the fact that he knew never to pester Ziva more then once. Tony tried to stay focused on the movie, but he felt himself constantly compelled to observe Ziva instead. She looked so calm, sitting there watching a movie with him- and happy. Tony had never really considered Ziva to be a particularly happy person, but sitting beside her no-

"Stop that Tony," Ziva stated abruptly.

"Stop what?" Tony asked in an innocent tone.

"Staring at me like I have a rare fungus growing out of my head."

Her delivery was priceless, totally deadpan. Tony laughed. "Well, what if you do?" He asked, grinning.

"I do not," Ziva replied flatly, not looking at him.

"How do you know?" He asked playfully.

"Because you said that I was beautiful and American men generally do not find women with fungus growing out of their heads beautiful. Perhaps it _is_ possible but only if they have massively large breasts and blinding blonde hair, yes?" She asked, turning on him.

"What else do you think I am Zee-vah?"

Now it was Ziva's turn to be surprised, "What?"

"What else do you think I am?" Tony asked, facing her with a grin plastered to his face, clearly waiting for her to feed his already severely inflated ego.

The ill- fated question. The question that made her head spin and made her want to run into the bathroom and lock the door. Instead, she made eye contact with him, and replied haughtily,

"Just attractive Tony. It is your only attribute."

"That's it! I've had enough from you!" He replied, and before she knew it, he had lunged at her, in an attempt to tackle her off the couch.

"Tony!" Ziva squealed. She grabbed his hands and pushed him off of her, and a struggle ensued. Ziva hated losing at anything physical against men, and soon proved this. After a 3 minute sparring match, Ziva ended up the victor, lying on top of Tony and holding his hands pinned over his head.

"I've told you before Tony, I prefer it on top," she informed him, panting. She looked into his eyes, only ten centimetres away from his face, smiling. He looked back at her grinning. Within the next four seconds, the silence spoke volumes, as both realized just how intimate the position that they were in was.

"Ziva…" Tony breathed, not knowing how he was going to complete his thought, just knowing that he was aching to do something, say something…

"Don't speak," Ziva replied, slapping a finger over his lips, but this time, she did what she had yearned to do last time she spoke these words to him, when he had been jealously mocking her for thinking an FBI agent was hot. She did what she had wanted to do so many times under so many circumstances, but had never dared to….Ziva bridged the gap between them, and it was a physical and emotional bridging all at once.

At first, the kiss was tentative, gentle… she was testing the waters, insuring that it wasn't one-sided. But, when Tony didn't resist, passion consumed her.

She wanted this man, she had wanted him for years. She had longed for him, ached for him, cried for him… she had needed his lips on hers to solidify these facts.

Tony groaned, his whole body tensing as her lips teased his, and her small body pressed against him. He was instantly aroused, because she was so passionate, because she was beautiful and playful and warm… because she was _Ziva. _

Ziva pulled Tony up by his shirt, into sitting position, and straddled him, their lips still locked, kissing passionately, breathing heavily.

Tony was in high school again, he was sure. He was in high school.. And he didn't know what to do. He was _hesitant… _hesitant with a woman? It was almost unheard of… but this was Ziva, not just any woman, and he didn't know what to do- what if she just wanted kissing? He didn't want to offend her by taking off her-

Ziva took off her shirt, and threw it to the ground beside her. Tony chuckled, and began to trail kisses down her neck. Ziva moaned, as she unbuttoned his shirt frantically and removed it.

Suddenly, Tony pulled back and looked at her, smiling peacefully.

"What are you doing?" Ziva demanded.

"Looking at you," Tony replied gently, as he gazed at her, drinking it all in greedily- her adorable glowing face, wild hair, graceful neck and the beautiful curve of her breasts peeking out from underneath her red bra.

Ziva blushed furiously, and purred with pleasure as Tony began kissing his way down her neck once more, kissing his way between her breasts, making her feel like she was in heaven, utopia, a perfectly place of sa-

"I would stop that if I were you," a voice growled from behind them.

Ziva gasped and turned around, still straddling Tony. The heaven sent dream had become a nightmare. There was James standing before them, gun pointed, a strange grin on his face as he held two tattered booklets towards them.

"Finally- I have both of my actors," he murmured, and Ziva almost screamed, as the horrible realization that both of their guns were far away, and of what that meant, struck her simultaneously.

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More to come, please review!!


	6. Confessions and gunshots

AN: Sorry about the wait! I had exams (ew). This chapter is extra intense to make up for the wait J Enjoy!

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Gibbs and his two men were halfway to their location,

"Call NCIS, and get a check on the cell phone signal location, if it's back on… I want to make sure that this fits Collins," Gibbs ordered, eyes on the road.

Collins called, and after several minutes of conversation, hung up, with a very concerned look on his face.

"Gibbs.. Er.. Sir… looks like we're on the wrong track, according to the cellphone signal location, the man we're hunting is on Jordan Street right now," he reported nervously.

Gibbs scratched his head, "Now, why do I know that address?" His eyes widened as realization struck him, "That's Tony's street."

Gibbs turned the vehicle around quickly, narrowly missing being hit by several cars, and hitting several cars himself. Collins and Jones glanced at each other and Jones gulped.

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Ziva glanced sidelong at Tony as he poured over the script that James had just handed to him. She saw him gulp, and then look up. He gazed at her intensely...meaningfully. He'd seen the part that said "She, scared, takes a knife and stabs him straight through the heart." She was sure of it.

Ziva's mind was working furiously, she knew that there had to be a way to get out of this situation.. There were always numerous ones, she just had to figure out which one would do the trick this time. She was having trouble focusing though, semi- intoxicated as she was. Against her better judgement, she felt her mind constantly drifting back towards the pleasurable entanglement that her and Tony had been sharing before so rudely interrupted…

_Focus, David. Focus! You are about to be forced into killing Tony and then committing suicide, and all you can think about is how incredibly aroused you are right now? Not good. Focus._

"Ok, well.. I just want to get this- this wonderful performance over with- so, you don't have to have the script memorized… ok? Do you hear me? You don't have to memorize it. Just do what I say.. And I won't shoot you."

He was twitching, nervously fidgeting… all signs pointed to his incredible mental instability.

_How do you negotiate with a recently escaped mental ward patient? If only that had been part of Mossad training…_

Tony spoke up, apparently more educated in that area then Ziva herself.

"James- I'm wondering.. What's really the point in holding that gun to our heads.. If you're just going to have us be killed in this little theatrical masterpiece of yours anyways?" Tony asked calmly.

_Good move Tony, good move. Look at you, sitting there.. Smelling so good, looking so good… I should have expected that we would be thrown into yet another deadly situation just when everything was starting to make sense between us. "You know, your life would have had more meaning if you'd slept with me." The irony of that statement astounds me right now._

James eyed Tony suspiciously, "That won't work with me- I'm not falling for it. I want you to start right now. Read the damn script- let's do this thing…"

He was pacing, still pointing the gun towards them, nervous.. Very nervous.

"Wait James, wait, before we start acting this thing out.. I need to get a sense of this character.. How should I be playing him? I don't wanna mess it up for you, because, for obvious reasons, we only get one run through," Tony said, chuckling.

_Good Tony, good. Buying us time to figure out an escape route, very smart. Clearly more focused then I am right now… smart, handsome men are so sexy. FOCUS David!! Imagine thrusting a knife into Tony's heart- that's what is at stake here._

"Yes, James," Ziva piped up quickly, "I would like to get a senseof my character too, if you do not mind… as well as the relationship between the two characters"

James nodded several times, wringing his hands nervously as he did so.

"You two are coworkers. You'd-uh- been flirting around the office for a long time- you know… a lot of sexual tension. Really, you have feelings for one another, but you- uh- hide behind flirtation and- stuff like that… because it's easier that way- then- making yourself vulnerable.."

Ziva and Tony glanced at each other. It was an act of silent mutual acknowledgement of the truth of James's words within their own situation. The exchanged glance could have been a really romantic moment, if not for the fact that they had a psychopath pointing a gun at them.

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Eight minutes later, and Gibbs and his temporary team were about seven minutes away from Tony's house.

"Do you think we'll make it sir?" Collins asked Gibbs quietly.

"Damn right we'll make it Collins, if they haven't taken care of this guy already. Even if I have to run down this whole highway to get there before this guy does something stupid.. We'll make it. Those are my two best agents in there… and two of the best people I know. We'll make it."

Gibbs pumped on the accelerator.

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They were halfway through the script. James had sensed that they were stalling with their questions and had forced them to begin acting right away, threatening them by brandishing his gun menacingly in their faces. James had made them get a steak knife out of Tony's kitched drawer, and it was sitting on the counter beside where she stood, just waiting to be picked up. Ziva was beginning to panic. She never really panicked… right now was an exception though. She could see no way out. If she picked up the knife early and threw it at James, she'd definitely miss because he was pacing and because she was still semi- intoxicated. Then, he would just shoot them sooner. She couldn't think of anything to do… she was reading the lines as slowly as possible as it was, and Tony was looking at her with a pained expression. She knew that he also had no idea as to how to get out of this one.

Ziva stretched out her next line, "It was a lie David… I never loved you! I hate you, I hate you more then everything, you are scum... Scum!"

_What do I do? What do I do? Come on David, don't give up on yourself now. Come on, there has to be a way.. There has to be something… think. THINK. _

"No… no…Please, please…" Tony ignored the stage directions and stayed planted where he was.

"Now, you move towards her!!" James informed him, his voice tense with sick excitement.

Tony stepped towards Ziva, and caught her eye. Their eyes were locked. It seemed like it took him forever to arrive right in front of her. He smiled weakly at her, as if to say, _I give you permission to do whatever you need to._

"Get away from me, get away from me right now!!"

It was a hoarse whisper, not a scream as indicated by the script. But James didn't seem to care… he was in a twisted fit of ecstasy as he watched them.

Ziva didn't do anything. She didn't reach for the knife. She just stood there, looking into Tony's eyes, captivated by them…and suddenly, she felt completely calm, and, under the least likely circumstances of all, everything finally fell into place.

"STAB HIM!!" James screeched, smiling maniacally, "Stab him already!!"

Ziva turned to him and made eye contact, "No," she stated defiantly.

_If I am going to die, I am going to do it my way, not yours._

"What?!" He screeched, flailing his gun around like the madman that he was,  
"Why not??"

_Because of late night tears, and unexpected giggles, because of unexpected hugs and red hot jealousy. _

_Because I've always been afraid to care too much… because caring too much always leads to death and pain and sorrow. _

_Because… why should I die at the hand of hatred like I have seen so many people that I love die, when I could die at the hand of a superior force, a force which I have been defying for so long?_

Ziva spoke quietly, not disengaging her eyes from Tony's once, "Because in Israel, women do not stab the men that they love, so why should they do so in America?"

Tony's eyes widened.

"I don't fucking care- you're ruining my script!! Stab him or I'll shoot you both!"

"So, McGeek was right in his book after all. Ha. The cat has finally caught the mouse!" Tony muttered to Ziva, grinning from ear to ear.

_Of course, I should have expected it. He still manages to find a way to rub my face in my deathbed confession._

"Yes, but now really isn't the time for "I told you so's" Tony.." Ziva replied in a terse murmur, "We're about to die here, in case you had not noticed. And for the last time, _I _am the cat."

"STAB HIM YOU STUPID BITCH. OR YOU'RE BOTH GONE!!" James pointed his gun at the ready.

"If we're going down Zee- vah, we're going down in style."

Tony's grin changed then, to a sad smile. He took Ziva's hand and squeezed it, "Ti amo anche io bella," he whispered. Then, he stepped towards her, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into the most passionate kiss of her life.

One shot rang through the air. Then another. Then… silence.

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AN: One chapter left. How does this end?? I don't even know yet… :0 dunhdunhdunh.


	7. Bets and fulfillment

AN: Sorry about the wait again guys. I was trying to end this in a way that wasn't too gut- wrenchingly fluffy. Lol, I'm worried that it still is. This chapt. is mostly from Tony's POV, to mix things up.

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"What the _hell _are you idiots doing?" Gibbs demanded, staring at them, totally bewildered, as he put his gun back in his pocket.

Tony pulled away from Ziva, "Well, that wasn't the form that I was expecting God to take. But, now that I think about it, it kind of does make sense…" he remarked, then turned to Gibbs grinning.

"This guy's pointing a gun at the two of you, finger on the trigger.. Ready to shoot, and you're _kissing_??"

They stared at Gibbs dumbly, Ziva with her arms crossed over her breasts, mortified that her boss had caught them in such an entanglement and, now, had seen her in just a bra.

"You really have to understand the circumstances boss.. I could explain them to you if you've got a minute…" Tony responded.

"No amount of explanation could shed light on this for me Dinozzo. We have to deal with this body." Gibbs walked towards the body, but stopped right in front of Tony and Ziva. One by one, he slapped them in the backside of the head, then, with a subtle smirk, he made his way over to inspect the body.

Recovering from his slap, Tony turned to Gibbs, "Geesh boss, I just got my carpets redone, did you really have to shoot the guy?" he wisecracked.

"Do you want another head slap Dinozzo?"

Tony cringed, "No, I'm good boss."

"Then call Ducky and tell him to get over here. This is going to be a long night."

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Ziva drank two cups of coffee consecutively the next morning. She needed to. The night before, after James's body had been dealt with, Gibbs had driven her home to her house to catch 3 hours of sleep. She would have objected and insisted that she go back to Tony's house, but she didn't want to skew Gibbs's perspective of them even more then it had already been skewed.

Walking into work that morning, she passed McGee and Palmer who were standing chatting near the elevator.

She saw Jimmy reluctantly hand a 50 bill to McGee and say, "I knew it was there, I just didn't think it would ever happen, ok?" Then, he saw Ziva passing by.. he turned bright red and scurried away.

On her way towards her desk, she passed Gibbs, with 4 or 5 bills in his hands, seemingly counting his earnings, he looked up at Ziva as she passed and nodded his greeting, "David," before continuing towards the elevator.

Ziva arrived at her desk, and sat down, confused. She looked up at Tony who was sitting at his desk, legs crossed on the table, watching her every move with a grin plastered to his face.

"Did this place turn into a casino over night?" She asked him wryly.

Tony chuckled, "Yeah, Zee-vah, and, as fate would have it, it seems that we are the stakes. The whole office had a bet going on about when we would hook up."

Ziva glanced up at him, laughing, "You're kidding."

"Nope." Tony stood up and made us way over to Ziva's desk, grinning as he walked.

"So, that was some pretty crazy stuff that went down last night eh?" he asked, sitting down on the edge of her desk.

"Yes, it was…" Ziva replied slowly, smiling up at him

"What do you say that we-"

Abby rushed into the office, and stood in front of them, jumping up and down, "Is it true, is it true?? Gibbs walks in.. and there you two are, in a passionate liplock, Ziva just in a bra, Tony, shirtless… while this guy points a gun at you. Please tell me it's true!"

Tony and Ziva glanced at one another grinning, then looked at Abby, "It's true," they answered simultaneously.

"Yes!! I'm a rich woman! See, because we all knew that the two of you would hook up eventually, except Palmer, the idiot.. We made bets on when and how it would happen! I guessed that it would happen this exact week because I could see the tension between you mounting, and Ziva getting really anxious with the whole "taking film classes" bit which McGee told me about. And I guessed that it would be some kind of lip lock at Tony's place.. Because you guys wouldn't be idiots enough to do it at work, that's what McGee guessed…. And because you're a lot more private then Tony, Ziva, I figured, if it was going to happen at anyone's house, it would be at Tony's… ahh! I'm rich!! Cannibal corpse, front row seat, here I come!"

And with that, Abby was off to collect her earnings, leaving an incredibly bemused Tony and Ziva staring after her.

"So, as I was saying-" Tony began again, only to be interrupted by Gibbs.

"We've got a case. Marine dead at the docks. Let's go team. No time for chatting or… groping," he said stoically, as he beckoned at them to follow him,

"Oh. Haha. Very funny boss. Does the comedy network know about you? Because I think that they'd be really inte-"

"Less talk, more walk, Dinozzo," Gibbs replied curtly, as Ziva and Tony followed Gibbs into the elevator.

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The whole day was much the same. Gibbs set Tony and Ziva to work, bagging and tagging together, with him supervising. It was fairly obvious that Gibbs was deriving an incredible amount of sadistic pleasure out of making them work alongside of each other, while expecting them to maintain a certain level of professionalism.

Ziva felt like she was in sensory over load. Every accidental graze of her body, every look, smile, and word from Tony made her want him more. Time was passing so slowly, it was as if every minute had been stretched out to the duration of five, and she had to wait, and wait and wait for an eternity until they would be alone together again.

Tony could barely focus on the task at hand… he was so distracted by Ziva. She seemed to be purposefully teasing him, purposefully making his job more difficult. She leaned down to pick up a discarded gum wrapper right in front of him, and he felt his pulse speed up as he was presented with a perfect view of her ass. She found every way possible to pass in front of him, lightly grazing some part of his body and leaving the intoxicating smell of her shampoo trailing on the wind behind her.

By the end of their time at the docks, he was sure that he was going to have to feign sick and take the rest of the day off to recover from his almost unbearable arousal.

On the way home from the docks, McGee claimed the front seat, leaving Ton and Ziva in the back. When they sat down, Ziva placed her hand on Tony's upper thigh with a knowing smirk and left it there for the entire ride. Yup, he was going to need to take the rest of the day off.

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It was the end of the day. Finally. Gibbs had dismissed them. Finally.

"What are you doing tonight Tony?" Ziva asked casually as she tidied up her desk.

"Oh, you know.. Cracking open a beer, watching some movies, having some incredible sex, having a shower…"

Ziva chuckled and smiled at him, raising an eyebrow suggestively, "Really? And what makes you think you will be having that?"

Tony laughed and played dumb, "Well, I try to have a shower at least once a week Zee-vah, that's just good hygiene…"

They began walking towards the elevator, and Ziva looked at Tony, with a faint smile.

"What makes you think that I plan on having sex with you tonight Tony, maybe I would like to draw our little game out a little longer, yes? See how much I can make you squeal.."

She glanced over at him as he pressed the elevator button, a knowing smirk on her face.

"What makes _you _think that I was talking about having sex with _you _Miss David? A little presumptuous today, aren't we?"

He smirked back. Two could tango at _this_ game. The elevator opened. Before he knew it, Ziva had rushed in before him and pulled him in after her. The second the elevator door shut, her lips were on his, he pushed her up against the elevator wall, and she moaned against his lips. He thrust a leg in between her slightly parted ones and she moaned again as she felt how badly he wanted her.

Suddenly, he pulled away, gasping for air, "Ziva, this is not good. Not good. We have to wait… wait for… home. I have to drive…"

And drive he did, her hand resting on his thigh, all of the way home.

88

It was everything he had always imagined it would be. Because, yes, he had imagined it. Of course he had imagined it, you couldn't work with a woman with Ziva David's attractiveness and sexual magnetism without imagining it. He had imagined it like a million different sex scenes from a million different movies; tender, passion-filled, wild…

In reality, it was even better then he had imagined it, because not even his wildest fantasies featured an entanglement as passionate as the one that they shared that night.

Making their way into Tony's apartment, locked in a passionate kiss once again; they knocked over lamps, rammed into cabinets, tripped over dirty laundry… and it was better then fantasy.

Resting on his bed, they explored each others bodies finally, the pleasure of their interaction only enhanced by the many nights of unfulfilled longings that preceded it. They explored each other from head to toe for what seemed like hours… and it was better then fantasy.

Lying with her above him, he realized just why she'd always said that she preferred it on top, as she dominated him, and made him acknowledge in awe that a woman like this… so fiery, so bold… actually existed on the planet. She let him know that she needed him though, her voice screaming his name over and over again was the sweetest music that he had ever heard as they climaxed together… and it was better then fantasy.

Then, after, she curled up beside him and pulled his arm around her. He was shocked- he had assumed that she wouldn't let him hold her afterwards, assumed that she wasn't the type. In that moment, he felt completely overcome by emotion as he realized that this was Ziva's way of showing him that she loved him- by showing her soft side… by making herself vulnerable to him, when she never showed vulnerability, _ever_. He squeezed her tightly, and whispered it into her hair, knowing that it was true,

"I love you Ziva."

"I love you too my little hairy butt," she mumbled drowsily.

Tony stifled a laugh. The cat and mouse had finally come to terms with the true sentiment behind their ruthless game… and it was better then fantasy.

88

Hope you enjoyed!! Thanks to all of you constant reviewers… you made my days a little brighter! Look out for more fics from me.. I already have another plotline in mind :o!


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